The Tale of Krystal Pines
by MysteryWriter36
Summary: Krystal Pines has a fairly normal life until her mom dies. She's never met her father & is sent to live with her grandfather, Stan, due to the will her mother left behind. But while Krystal is in Gravity Falls, strange things happen. After the first incident, her cousins Mabel & Dipper, as well as Stan, are intent on protecting her. But things go awry.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Ok, so this story does involve a lot more characters and genres than I could put below the summary. Lots of old enemies and other residents of Gravity Falls will appear, like Wendy, Soos, Pacifica, ect. Now, on to the genre thing; I put Family as the genre cuz it's there in, like, every chapter. I would've put another genre, but there are so many that are in here, that I couldn't choose one to take the second place. So, here's a list of genres that will be present in my story, some more frequent than others, some appearing later than others.**

**Romance**

**Humor**

**Drama**

**Angst**

**Mystery**

**Supernatural**

**Suspense**

**Tragedy**

**Family**

**Friendship**

**Hurt/comfort**

**Crime (Just a little, nothing really big)**

**Ok, that's all of the genres that I know will be in this story, but some others may be incorporated later on as this fanfic develops. Now, read on and read the prologue!**

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><p>"Are you two sure you wanna go in alone?" Stan asked Dipper and Mabel. The twins nodded and Stan wished them luck.<p>

Mabel and Dipper slowly walked to the front doors of the Oregon state prison, which was strangely not too far from Gravity Falls. They were here to see a prisoner before they left for the summer to go back to school.

Dipper and Mabel were led by a guard to the waiting room. After 5 minutes, the 12-year-old twins were taken through the rows of cells to one in particular. It was empty except for a short figure sitting on the prison bed.

"Howdy Mabel. Howdy _Dipper_." Gideon said as he stood and walked over to the bars of his cell, saying Dipper's name with obvious disdain.

"Hello Gideon." Mabel replied, her voice laced with venom.

Gideon smiled. "And how's my marshmella been doin'? Did ya come to visit me so soon?" he asked, trying to seem innocent.

"I am _not _your marshmallow, Gideon!" she replied.

"And we didn't come to visit you. We have something we need to ask you." Dipper informed him.

"Do ya, now? Well, spit it out." Gideon ordered.

"We need to know what you promised Bill Cipher." Dipper stated, as if it were normal.

"That demon who failed me? I really don't know. He said he'd work out the details with me later. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to what that insane demon wanted. Why do ya ask?" Gideon answered.

"Because he got super mad when we cost him whatever he planned to get out of the deal. It must've been important." Mabel explained.

"Well, like I said, I don't know. So you're wastin' your time asking me." Gideon told them.

"Thanks for nothing!" Dipper yelled back sarcasticly as he and Mabel walked away.

"You're welcome!" Gideon replied, using the same sarcasm as Dipper.

As the twins got back in the car Stan asked, "So, did you two find out anything?"

"Nope." Mabel and Dipper replied in unison. Dipper then muttered, "Just a waste of time."

The con man dramaticly gasped and sarcasticly exclaimed, "Oh my, Short-Stack wasted someone's time?! That's _never_ happened before!"

The trio broke into fit of laughter as they continued driving down the road.

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><p><em>Mabel held a Nyarf toy dart gun and aimed it carefully at her target. She pulled the trigger, and the styrofome bullet hit the small door, knocking it out of Bill's hand and into the bottomless pit from one of Stan's memories.<em>

_She heard the demon cry out as he watched the door fall into the bottomless, black abyss, and she heard Gideon break off the deal and say that he'd switch to Plan B. But Mabel didn't have much time to worry about what Plan B was, because she heard the angry demon's voice boom, "**You**! You have no idea what you just cost me! Do you have any idea what I'm like- When. I'm. **MAD?!**"_

_The demon turned red, growing in size as various red symbols flashed in his black eye._

_Then, everything went black..._

Mabel awoke with a start, nearly screaming and waking up her brother. She sighed, thinking about the events earlier; when she and her brother went to see Gideon. She wasn't sure what Bill had wanted from him, but obviously, it had been important. She yawned and glanced at the clock.

"_Well, whatever it was isn't worth wondering about at two in the morning." _She thought. With that, she drifted back to sleep.

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><p>Hopeless...<p>

He'd never felt more hopeless.

In fact, he'd **never **felt hopeless

But he did now.

He felt like the most hopeless being in existence, because there was nothing he could do but watch as the bullet effortlessly glided through his love's chest, and straight through her heart.

The day had started out so well, though.

Blue skies, a calm breeze, happiness all around. At least, as much happiness as there could be when you're over-seas and away from your friends and family.

It all went south from there.

People broke in, shooting everyone they saw. His beloved was no exception. All the soldiers fought, but only a few survived. As the woman he loved was hiding, he was hoping. Hoping they wouldn't find her, hoping they wouldn't kill her.

But they found her.

And she fought.

And fought.

Until a gunshot rang out, and there was a sickening _thud_.

The woman's limp body fell to the ground, blood dripping from the wound, her eyes closed.

She was dead; gone forever.

As he hopelessly watched the scene unfold, he let loose screams of rage and anguish. Tears stung his eyes, and eventually spilled down his face.

"_For the first time, I've felt hopeless. There's nothing I can do. There was nothing I could do anyway; I'm trapped here...trapped and hopeless." _he thought.

His grieving continued, lasting until he could not scream nor cry anymore.

He then decided he wanted to at least see the grave.

"_I'll miss you my love. I'll miss you until the end of time. I'll never forget you. And I'll help her, I promise. You may not want me near her, but she'll need me one day. And I'll be there, to keep her safe and care for her. I don't blame you for leaving her, it wasn't your fault. She'll miss you as much as I will. Good-bye, my love, my beautiful wife."_

With those final parting words, he looked at his former wife's grave, then turned his attention to his left hand. The glint of the golden wedding ring caught in the sunlight. He smiled as a tear ran down his cheek.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, so there's the prologue! That was a pretty tragic and angst-y ending, wasn't it? Well, I hope y'all have enjoyed the prologue. But, believe me, you readers have barely even scratched the surface of all the mystery, angst, tragedy, and all those other genres that I mentioned in the A/N at the top! There is much more to come, so be prepared!**

**~Bye Y'all! (Yeah, I did that!)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Ok, I know all you fans of this story are excited and happy that I updated early. I'm quite sure you'll be happier now, cuz the next chapter will be posted next week! Unless I have some freak accident or something. Anyways, you may think me posting the chapter after this one next weekend is awesome, but you'll learn why it's a blessing and curse all the same when you read it, then the A/N at the bottom. By "it" I mean the chapter after this one, just to clarify. Anyways, read on fellow Fallers!**

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><p>It was Summer; late June to be exact.<p>

The sun glowed warmly, heating up the ground where the children played, the adults grilled, and the teens sat around on their phones or computers, or possibly out by the pool.

But 17-year-old Dipper Pines sat in his dark blue pick-up truck, waiting outside the Gravity Falls courthouse for his cousin, Krystal, to call. Dipper hadn't changed much in appearance; he still had the same messy hair, slightly pale skin, and wiry frame. Mabel however, had started wearing a little make up and had cut her hair. It now only reached her mid-back.

But she wasn't here, she was back at the Mystery Shack helping Wendy -who had taken off the summer at college- and Soos get the shack ready for the party later on.

Dipper hadn't seen Krystal since she was 7, one summer when his parents had driven him and Mabel all the way to eastern Texas, where she lived in Dallas.

Now she was 13-years-old.

He hadn't seen many photos or recieved many calls, texts, or e-mails from her. It was beacause when she didn't have school, she had some other activity. She called, texted, or e-mailed them every now and then, but their schedules were pretty booked too.

He wasn't quite sure what she looked like now beacause the last picture he got of her was her 5th Grade yearbook picture.

He could still see it in his mind, too; her frizzy dark orange hair in a ponytail, her braces showing in her large, Mabel-ish smile, the freckles that were splayed across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, her pale skin, and her stormy grey eyes. She was wearing a green, purple, black, and grey plaid top with elbow-length sleeves, and a pair of faded jeans along with her favorite cowboy boots and hat.

He knew that she participated in several rodeo events and trail rides, and she loved horses. She even had her own horse; a black stallion she had named Midnight. She was sad when she learned she'd have to leave him behind in Texas and move to Gravity Falls.

She was a lot like him and Mabel; she was smart, and loved to read and solve mysteries, but she was also very social and had a kind personality. And she was good at dancing, drawing, and, of course, horse-back riding. But she was also a bit mysterious and had grown a little rebelious over the years.

But today, she sat quietly in the courthouse as everything was sorted out before she was turned over to live with Stan Pines, her grandfather. Her mother had been killed and her father was nowhere to be found, presumably dead. The rest of her family on her mom's side was dead other than Stan, Dipper, Mabel, Mr. and Mrs. Pines, and her aunt Charlene who she lived with in Texas. But even if her father was there, the will stated that Krystal was to be put into Stan's care. No one knew why.

Dipper was jerked out of his memories when his phone buzzed.

_"Dippingsauce, come on in. It's over." _the messege read.

Dipper rolled his eyes at one of his many nicknames, and climed out of his truck.

He walked in the front door and heard something. It sounded like arguing. And Dipper couldn't help but look for the source. He walked to a door a little farther down the hallway and peeked inside. He saw who he presumed to be the judge, arguing with someone. As Dipper looked closer, he could see something strange about the man; he had grey eyes like Krystal. Dipper listened for only a moment.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there's nothing that can be done about it." the judge said.

Dipper slowly closed the door.

"Probably just some custody case over some stupid object." Dipper thought as he walked toward the courtroom.

When he opened the door, he didn't see anyone in the room. He walked down the aisle until he was at the front row, where he saw a girl laying down on the long bench-seat. She wore a black top, black jeans, and black combat boots. Her dark orange hair was loosely braided to the side and her stormy gray eyes were full of tears that threatend to spill over.

"Krystal?" he asked.

The girl sat up and wiped her eyes, smiling. "H-howdy, Dipper." she managed to weakly reply in her southern accent. The line sent a shiver down Dipper's spine as he remembered another southerner who had said that to him 5 years ago, back when he and Mabel had first visited Gravity Falls.

Dipper held his arms out and it took a moment for Krystal to recognize the gesture. She hugged Dipper and shuddered a couple times as if she was about to start crying again. He patted her back gently and said, "I know, I miss her too. But she's in a better place now, Krissy."

Krystal shuddered again and shakily replied, "I-I know, b-but I really m-m-miss he-her."

"Come on, let's go to the Mystery Shack." Dipper said as wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He led her to the truck, they climbed in, and Dipper drove them to the Mystery Shack.

When they got there, Mabel tackled Krystal with a hug and tried to lighten her spirits.

Soos and Wendy were setting up for a party to welcome her, and Stan was acting normal, but everyone knew he was upset over the death of his daughter.

When Krystal walked in and saw Stan, she ran up to him and hugged him. The old man stumbled back a bit, but hugged her.

"It's good to see ya, kiddo!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"It's great to see y'all too, grandpa." she replied, smiling back.

Stan put on a sireous face and told her, "Kid, I love ya, but you have to lose the accent." Seeing the confused expression on Krystal's face, he laughed.

"I'm just kidding!" He wiped a tear from his eye and continued, "You gotta stop taking things so sireously, Krystal."

"But I wasn't-"

"Shhh, just go with it, dude." Soos said, having silenced her with a finger to her lips.

Krystal raised an eyebrow and glanced at her cousins who just shook their heads and muttered, "Only in Gravity Falls."

Afterwards, Krystal was led upstairs to the attic where there were two beds. She and Mabel would share this room, and Dipper slept in another room. She unpacked her things and Mabel helped her get ready for the party.

"Oooh! You should wear this one! No, this one! No, no, no! You should wear this one!" Mabel squealed as she looked through the dresses in her closet.

"Um, Mabel? Can't I just wear somethin' simple, like a shirt and some jeans instead?" Krystal asked. Mabel only gasped.

"Krystal, it's a party for _you_! You _have_ to wear a dress!" Mabel told her.

"There ain't a single rule that says I _have to_. Besides, if this is a welcome party for me, shouldn't I be in somethin' comfortable? I ain't goin' to some fancy party." she retorted.

Mabel sighed and replied, "Fine. But when we do go to a fancy party, you are going to wear a dress and I am going to help you pick it out. Ok?"

Krystal nodded. "Sure, why not? I'm gonna change in the bathroom, alright?" Krystal then picked out a few things from her closet and went into the bathroom to change.

She came out 10 minutes later with a blue and black plaid top with short sleeves, a pair of blue jeans, her cowboy boots, and a tan cowboy hat sitting atop her auburn hair which was braided over her shoulder. The front of the shirt was unbuttoned, showing the white t-shirt she wore under it. She also had on a bit of lip gloss.

"Y'all look like ya came out of an 80's disco movie." Krystal said once she caught sight of Mabel's clothes.

Mabel wore a hot pink 80's styled sweater with a turntable on it, with a light blue tank top under it. She had on an emerald green skirt, and a darker green headband with a bow on it. She wore her usual white socks and black flats, but with magenta leg warmers. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail.

"We look great! Now let's go, it's party time!" Mabel yelled happily.

Krystal smiled and rolled her eyes as her older cousin drug her downstairs to the party.

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><p>The party was well-decorated, with streamers hanging from the ceiling, balloons floating around, and neon confetti occassionally flying around. Krystal saw Soos at the turn-table controlling the music, which blared from the speakers. Stan sat outside, selling the tickets so that Dipper and Wendy could enjoy the party.<p>

After about half an hour, everyone who was going to come had arrived, so Stan had come in to join the party, even though all he did was eat and try to con some people out of their money; just like he always does.

While Mabel was dancing with some guy and Dipper talked with Wendy and some of their friends, Krystal sat with two of Mabel's friends she'd just been introduced to, Candy and Grenda, and was trying to get to know them.

"So, Krystal, what brings you here to Gravity Falls?" asked Candy, as she adjusted her red-rimmed glasses.

"I would'a thought Mabel had told y'all already." said Krystal. "My mom died, so I'm gonna live with my grandpa Stan." she explained.

Seeing that Candy and Grenda were about to apologize for fear they'd upset her, she quickly added, "But it's ok, because she's in a better place now."

"But what about your dad? Shouldn't you be living with him?" Grenda asked her.

Krystal paused, and once again the two friends realized they'd brought up a touchy subject.

"I...I ain't never met him. I hope to though." she answered, a frown appearing.

"Hey, cheer up, it's not time to be sad." Candy told her.

"It's time to party!" Mabel exclaimed from behind them.

Krystal nodded. "I suppose y'all are right." she said, a smile starting to make its way onto her face. She finished what little food was left on her plate and joined her cousin and friends on the dance floor.

As they all danced, Mabel was the first of the group to realize the sudden change in music. It sounded dramatic, and a lot like the music you'd hear in a movie about a high school or something, during the scene where the popular girls come in.

"_Popular girls..._" Mabel thought. She heard people murmuring, and felt her cousin lightly nudge her in the ribcage. Mabel looked up and saw the crowd part to reveal Pacifica Northwest and the two other popular girls who followed her around all the time.

The rich blonde walked up to Mabel with a challenging smirked on her make-up covered face. "Hello Mabel, who's the new dork in your posse? Is she the _new sheriff in town_?" Pacifica said coldly, gesturing towards Krystal and refering to her choice of attire.

"Pacifica, this is my cousin, Krystal. And, come on, try to be nice for once." Mabel replied.

But Pacifica ignored her slight scolding and continued with her insults, saying, "I mean, I knew you and your friends were weirdos and all, but Cowgirl here takes your dorkiness to a whole new level."

Pacifica got closer to Krystal, her face mere inches away. "Sorry, hon, but this isn't a rodeo, it's a party. Or rather, a sorry excuse for one." Pacifica flicked Krystal's hat off her head. "Do you wear those rags 'cause your parents are losers just like that con-man relative of yours who owns this lousy shack?" Pacifica asked.

Pacifica could tell she struck a nerve by the way Krystal's eyes teared up. She expected her to run off crying, but instead she got right in her face.

"Look here you popular, rich, cold-hearted brat! Y'all got it easy, with life handed to ya on a silver platter, living all fancy with the best clothes! And you have all you need, all you want, as well as _both _your parents! My mother _died_ fighting to protect this country, and I've never even met my father! I wear these clothes because I can and want to! I don't need some spoiled, rich, one-dimensional, valley girl stereotype to walk into my life and try to make me feel worse than I already feel! So if y'all are gonna be that way, then leave me alone!"

Tears spilled over Krystal's eyes and fell onto her shirt. She turned and walked away, grabbed a cup of Pitt Cola from the snack table, and walked into the gift shop, which was currently closed. She sat on the stool behind the cash register and stared out the window as the rain poured lightly outside.

Stan walked in the gift shop and spotted his granddaughter sitting at the counter.

"Kid, I-"

"I know the gift shop is closed and that y'all want me to enjoy the party, but I need some alone time for a minute." Krystal told him.

"Actually, I was going to tell you that I thought that was impressive. What you did back there, standing up to Pacifica, I've never seen anyone other than Mabel and Dipper even attempt to stand up to her. That was great!" Stan exclaimed, patting Krystal on the back.

"Really?" she asked, looking back at him with watery eyes.

He smiled warmly and nodded. "Really. Now clean yourself up and go have some fun!" he told her.

She hugged him for a moment and said, "Thanks, grandpa."

"No problem, Kiddo, no problem," he said, hugging her. He ruffled her hair a little and said, "Now get outta her you little rascal. I got a rep to keep up."

Krystal ran to the bathroom, washed her face, fixed her appearance a little, and went back to the party.

When she walked in the room, people applauded her and chanted her name for a few moments. She also noticed that Pacifica and her two friends were gone.

"_Maybe that was pretty impressive..." _she thought.

Before they all knew it, hours had passed and it was already 11:30. Everyone went home to go to bed, while Mabel, Dipper, and Krystal went upstairs. They all took showers, put on their pj's, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Well, almost dreamless...

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, here's the next chapter! I hope you guys liked the little part at the end with Krystal and Stan. It shows, despite how rough he is around the edges, Stan really cares about his family. I honestly didn't expect it to be this long when I put it on a document! The next chapter isn't as long, but it'll be pretty close, unless I post a super long A/N at the bottom. **

**By the way, I have a quick favor. It's your choice entirely, I'm just asking. For an upcoming chapter of this story (no, not the next chapter) I need a song to use. It can be a single song, or two songs crossed over (if they're crossed over, tell me how) for a duet between a guy and a girl. I want the song to be romantic or have the lyrics say something about the guy and girl liking each other. I'd also prefer the girl sing more than the guy, or half in half. If you have any ideas, please PM me or post it in the reviews. Any little bit can help. And here's a little persuasion, a little prize to this contest; the person who's song I choose will get a couple of little sneak peaks at the next chapter or two during the hiatus!**

**~Peace Out!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: And here we are! The next chapter, and final one before my big hiatus. Yes, I know me going on hiatus with these stories sucks, but I need some time to get some stuff together. Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p>Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting Krystal directly in the face. The young red-haired teen groaned and rolled over.<p>

"Krissy!" Mabel squealed, shaking Krystal's shoulders. "Come on, get up!"

Krystal groaned again, but sat up.

"What do you want, Mabel? We have" -she glanced at her clock, which read 7:20- "an hour and ten minutes before breakfast." Krystal told her, a hint of anger in her voice at the last few words.

Mabel beamed widely.

"Look, we weren't able to celebrate your 13th birthday because you weren't here. But you are here now, and it's exactly one week after your birthday, so..." The brunette drug the red-head out of her bed and showed her what she had laid out for her to wear for the day; a faded blue jean skirt, a black tank top to wear under a white sweater with the words 'Happy B-Day To Me!' in different colors, a pair of white socks, and a pair of black flats.

"I tried to stay a bit closer to your style with the blue jean skirt." Mabel said.

"Uh, Mabel, I can pick out my own clothes." Krystal said to her, hinting that she didn't want to wear what Mabel had picked out.

Mabel stuck out her bottom lip and looked at Krystal with her best puppy dog eyes.

"Please," the 17-year-old pleaded, almost sounding pathetic.

Krystal rolled her eyes.

"Can I at least wear my boots and some tights instead of those socks and flats?" Krystal asked.

"Combat boots or cowboy boots?" Mabel inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Combat boots." Krystal confirmed.

Mabel beamed and nodded. "I guess so,"

"Well, since this is settled, I'll just go ahead and go back to sleep. Wake me up at a quarter 'til breakfast time." Krystal flopped back on her bed and pulled up the covers, only to have them yanked off again. The red-head glared at Mabel, who grabbed her hands and pulled her back out of the bed again.

"No more sleeping! If you're gonna look good today, you have to get ready early!" the brunette declared. "I have the whole day planned out!"

Krystal groaned in protest, but did nothing to stop her cousin, who pulled her into the bathroom and began fixing her hair and deciding on which lip gloss she should use.

An hour later, the two girls left their room and headed downstairs.

Mabel was wearing a red sweater with Waddles's face sewn on it, a purple skirt, black flats, and white socks. Her hair was in a ponytail, and had a bright red headband in it. Her make up consisted of mascara, a bit of red eyeliner, and a bit of red lipstick.

Krystal was wearing what Mabel had set out for her, except for black leggings and a pair of black combat boots instead of white socks and black flats. She had on red lip gloss and a bit of mascara. Her hair was braided down her back with a black and white ponytail holder. She also had two small silver hoop earrings in each ear.

As both girls walked down the stairs, they spotted Dipper with his head on the table.

"'Sup, Dippingsauce?" Mabel asked.

Dipper groaned. "I don't want to talk about it." he said.

"Come on now, it can't be that bad." Krystal assured him. But Dipper only shook his head.

The red-head sat next to her cousin and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll just laugh at me." he told them.

"No we won't. I promise." Krystal promised.

Dipper sighed and said, "Well, I had a dream last night. Mabel was getting married to Gideon," -he shivered- "Wendy was getting married to Robbie, and I was marrying..." -he shivered again- "Waddles. And I was the one who had to wear the dress. And Mabel designed it." The teenage boy shivered again and looked at his twin and cousin. He glared at Mabel when he saw that she was obviously trying hard not to laugh.

A few seconds passed...

Then half a minute...

Then another half minute...

Before they knew it, it had been two whole minutes.

Mabel couldn't take it anymore, and burst out laughing.

"Mabel!" Dipper and Krystal shouted at the same time.

Krystal hugged Dipper.

"Don't worry, Dipper. I won't laugh at ya." she whispered.

"Krissy, you're impossibly nice and compassionate. Like, it's weird, even for Gravity Falls. And that's saying something." the slightly younger Mystery Twin said.

Krystal shrugged. "Maybe y'all just don't have a lot of compassionate people around ya. Anyways, Mabel-" Krystal stopped as she looked at Mabel, who was still giggling and trying not to cry and make her mascara run.

"It's not that funny, Mabel." Krystal said, a stern edge to her voice.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just-" she began laughing again. "Dipper marrying Waddles is just too funny!" she exclaimed.

"What's with all the laughing? Is someone getting comically injured?" Stan asked as he walked in the room. He sat down a pitcher of orange juice, and some pancakes shaped like his face.

"Yay, Stan-cakes!" the twins exclaimed.

"Stan-cakes?" Krystal asked as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah! They're what we call the pancakes Grunkle Stan makes us because they're shaped like his face." Mabel explained as she stuffed her mouth with pancakes.

Krystal cringed at the sight.

"Mabel, don't talk with your mouth full." Stan chided.

Krystal inwardly sighed in relief.

"_At least someone here other than Dipper and I is sane._" she thought.

"Unless you're gonna do it right." Stan continued, stuffing his face and displaying how you should properly talk with a full mouth.

"It's an art. Do it right, or don't do it." he said.

Krystal sighed and shook her head.

"_Of coarse,_" she thought.

"So Mabel," Krystal said, getting the brunette's attention. "What do you have planned for today?"

Mabel swallowed her food, took a sip of orange juice, then beamed.

"Well, I thought we'd go shopping, try on some clothes, ya know. After that, we'll stop by Greasy's Diner and have lunch. Then we'll go to the theater and watch that new horror movie, Bella-Anne. And after that, I'll give you a full tour of the town. Once all of that is done, if we have any time, we can walk through the woods on our way back."

"Uh, Mabel, I don't think walking through the woods is such a good idea. Especially after watching a scary movie." Dipper told her, shooting her a look.

"Oh stop worrying so much. We'll be fine." Mabel waved off.

They all finished their breakfast and Mabel grabbed Krystal's hand and began to drag her out the door.

"Bye Grunkle Stan, bye Dipper!" Mabel said.

"Just try to keep the flirting to a minimum, Mabel! I don't want to hear anymore complaints from guys about you traumatizing them!" Dipper called to them.

Mabel rolled her eyes and the two girls walked out of the Mystery Shack, shutting the door behind them.

"So, you want to walk there or take the cart?" Mabel asked. "We could take my car, but mom and dad wouldn't let me take it here. It was either my car or Dipper's truck, and they decided a truck would be more practical. And Grunkle Stan definitely wouldn't let me take his car. And neither will Dipper when it comes to his truck." the brunette explained.

Krystal shrugged.

"Walk, I guess." she answered.

"Ok, the trail's over here." Mabel said, beckoning for Krystal to follow.

Mabel and Krystal walked down the long dirt trail, making light conversation and seeing some wildlife here and there. As they walked, the two teenagers were unaware of the many eyes that were watching them.

* * *

><p>"Should we attack now?" one of the mysterious figures asked.<p>

"No. We will wait until they come back. With our luck, it will be late afternoon, maybe even nightfall, when they return down this path." a second voice answered, apparently the leader.

"So, just to be clear, we're going after Mabel, correct?" a third voice questioned.

"Yes." the leader confirmed.

"Why not go after the girl with the fire-hair?" a fourth voice inquired. "She's quite a beauty, wouldn't you say?"

A few of the other figures nodded and murmured in agreement.

"It's '_fiery_-hair', first of all. Second of all, because that is not our mission. And third of all..." The leader paused to make sure the others were listening. "Enough with the questions! You have your orders, so follow them. Today, we will finally get her back!" the voice proclaimed.

The figure's followers cheered, but were quickly quieted.

"Silence! They can't know we are following them!" the leader told them.

The mysterious figures watched as their target, Mabel, and the girl accompanying her walked down the path.

"Yes..." the leader of the mysterious figures murmured. "Soon, we will have our queen."

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><p><strong>AN: It appears that someone is targeting Mabel! Again! Who is it? You'll just have to find out in the next chapter! Yeah, so this is officially on hiatus! And at a major cliffhanger, too! I'm so evil! **

**Anyways, in the last A/N I said I needed a song for an upcoming chapter. I need it to be a duet between a guy and a girl, and the song needs to show that both of them like or love each other. Please, no cuss words or suggestive material. It can also be a crossover between two songs, but if it is, explain how. This story is not turning into a songfic, and the chapter is not a songfic chapter. You'll see when I post the chapter. I'll be looking, but I'm just asking for a little assistance. And if someone gives me a better idea than what I have now, I'll give that person a sneak peek to one of the upcoming chapters. You don't have to help, it's your decision, and you can PM me or post the song idea in the reviews. Anyways, see y'all!**

**~Bye For Now!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here we are! Another long chapter! I'm back from my hiatus on a strict "update when I can" schedule. Anyways, in a few chapters in this story I'll have an end-of-chapter cryptogram! Good luck solving them! Anyways, I'm gonna shut up so you can read the chapter! Read on!**

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><p>"Wow, this place is huge for such a small town!" Krystal exclaimed.<p>

Both girls had just entered the mall in Gravity Falls, which was quite large indeed. Mabel drug her cousin through various stores and they tried on several outfits and looked an uncountable amount of shoes and jewelry. The only thing they bought were skirts, headbands, and yarn for Mabel, and a pair of black and silver 'K' earrings for Krystal.

"Ok, we're done buyin' stuff. Let's got eat now." Krystal insisted.

"Not just yet. I want to take you to one more store here. It's really fancy and they have a lot of formal clothes." Mabel said as she pulled her cousin in the direction of the extremely classy and extremely expensive store.

As Krystal looked around, she spotted several boys her age or a bit older being dragged around the store by their mothers or sisters or girlfriends.

Mabel was occupied with picking out several dresses in different colors.

"Um, Mabel, none of those dresses are your size. They're too small." Krystal pointed out to the hyper-active teen.

"Well duh, silly! They're not for me, they're for you."

"Come again?"

The red-head was then pushed into a dressing room by her cousin along with several dresses.

"Come out when you have one on." Mabel told her.

Krystal sighed and slipped on one of the dresses. She tried on dress after dress, only for Mabel to shake her head and tell her to try on the next one. What the point of this was, Krystal wasn't sure. But she just went along with it.

Krystal looked at the last dress. It was red like salsa, with spaghetti straps and a sweatheart neckline. It looked to be made of silk, with a small black belt around it right under the bust of the dress, and the skirt of the dress was fashioned like a skort, so it was definitely not made for something like the Waltz.

Krystal slipped it on and turned to look in the mirror. The dress looked great on her, and ended just above the knees. Taking a deep breath, the red-haired girl turned to walk out of the dressing room. Before she could leave the dressing room, a pair of shoes were held over the top of the door.

"I saw the last dress that was left and decided to get these shoes to go along with it. Put 'em on, then come out here." Mabel said.

Krystal grabbed the heels. They were black, about three inches high, and had a cute web-like design on the top of the shoe. She strapped them on and walked out of the dressing room. She walked a bit unsteadily down the hall of dressing rooms, as she wasn't accustomed to wearing heels. When she stepped out into the main area of the store for Mabal to see her dress, she noticed almost everyone turn and stare. As she looked around, she noticed they were staring at her!

"Uh, Mabel, can I change so we can get outta of here? I'm starvin'." Krystal said, hoping to get away from the staring people as soon as she could.

"Krissy, that looks beautiful on you! But sure, go ahead and change and we can go." Mabel replied. "But first!" The brunette then pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of Krystal. "I never miss a scrapbook-ortunity!" she proclaimed.

Krystal breathed a sigh of relief and turned to go back to the dressing rooms when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw a brown-haired boy about her age, maybe a bit older. He had blue eyes and tanned skin.

"Hi, I'm Jackson." he said, holding out his hand.

"I'm Krystal." Krystal replied as she shook his hand.

"You're that girl that stood up to Pacifica last night, aren't you?" Jackson asked.

"Sure am! That girl had it comin', though. She shouldn't have been so mean to me." Krystal told him.

"She's had much more than that coming with all she's done over the years. Anyways, you're new around here, aren't ya?"

"Yeah. I just moved here yesterday from Texas. I lived in Dallas."

"I'd love to here more about that. How about over dinner this Friday, about six-ish? What do you say?" he offered.

Krystal was taken aback. Did this guy just ask her out? Krystal glanced over Jackson's shoulder at her cousin, who was giving her a thumb's-up. Turning her attention back to Jackson, Krystal nodded.

"Sure, I'd love to." she accepted.

"I'll see you then." Krystal held out her hand to shake his good-bye, but he gently took it and kissed it. "Until then, Krystal." Jackson then turned around and walked off.

Mabel was trying not to squeal as the boy walked off and a heavy blush spread across Krystal's face.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she exclaimed. "Do you know what just happened?!"

"Uh, I got asked to join someone at dinner?" Krsytal replied, hoping the blush would disappear quickly.

"More than that, Krissy! You just got asked out on a date by a cute guy and you haven't even been here for more than, like, twenty-four hours!"

"Whatever." the southerner dismissed. Krystal turned and headed for the dressing room.

"Wait! We have to shop for your date!" Mabel insisted.

"Later, Mabel. I have to eat before I fall over dead like a rattlesnake that ate a poisoned rat." the southerner told her.

"Eww..." Mabel commented.

After changing back into her regular clothes, the girls left for Greasy's Diner.

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><p>"So, what are you thinking of Gravity Falls so far?" Mabel asked as the two girls walked down the street.<p>

"Well, I stood up to the meanest girl in town and I have a date for Friday night, and it hasn't been much more than twenty-four hours since I arrived here. I'd say things are going pretty good. How about y'all?"

"It's been great! Especially since we have you here every summer."

"Great!"

Both girls walked into the diner and sat down on stools at the bar.

"Good morning girls!" Lazy Susan greeted.

"Hey Lazy Susan! This is my cousin, Krystal Pines." Mabel replied.

"Howdy, there." Krystal said.

"Hello Krystal. You sound like you're from somewhere in the south." the waitress commented.

"I am. I'm from Dallas, Texas." the girl informed her.

"Well, ya sure sound a lot like-" but the waitress stopped herself. She knew better than to say that name around here. And especially in front of Mabel Pines.

"I sound like who?" Krystal asked.

"Oh, it's no one, Krystal. Let's just order lunch." Mabel interrupted.

"Alright," Krystal said, skimming the menu. "I'll have a cheeseburger and a side of fries."

"I'll have the same." Mabel told Susan.

"Ok, and what to drink?" the older woman asked.

"Coke." both girls answered at the same time.

"Ok, I'll have your orders right out in a minute." The waitress then went back into the kitchen.

Krystal elbowed her cousin. "Hey Mabel, I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I can't stand wearing this sweater any longer. It's way too hot."

"Ok," Mabel replied.

Krystal jumped off her stool and headed to the bathroom. But she unaware of a raven-haired man walking up to her cousin, who was only looking to start trouble.

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><p>"Well, if it isn't that little twerp's sister." a man with black hair said.<p>

Mabel groaned unhappily. "What do you want, Robbie?" she asked the man.

"Oh, so you wanna act like that, huh? Ya know, you're suppose to respect adults. Now get out of that seat, my band is sitting here." Robbie told her, pulling back on her sweater.

"Hey! Stop it!" Mabel cried.

She clawed at the counter top, trying to hold on as Robbie pulled her off. A couple of his friends joined in, trying to pry the brunette from the stool.

Suddenly, Robbie was hit in back of the head with what felt like a spoon. Turning around, he saw a young teenage girl with dark orange hair and a pale complexion.

"Y'all better leave my cousin alone!" she told Robbie.

"And just who are you?" he asked. As he studied her further, he noticed something. "You're the little wimp that stood up to Miss Popular, aren't ya?"

"Yeah, I am. And I got no problem standin' up to y'all either. Now leave my cousin alone, and I won't be sayin' it again." Krystal demanded.

"Or what, shrimp? What'cha gonna do?" Robbie scoffed. "You couldn't beat up a ventriliquist dummy." he snickered.

"And you could?" Krystal challenged, her grey eyes boring into Robbie's brown ones.

"So you wanna get into it, huh? Well then, let's get into it." Robbie said, letting go of Mabel and marching up to Krystal, leaning closely to her face. "I challenge you to a competition. You, me, this Saturday night at seven at the karaoke bar. My band against you and who ever you can get to work with you. And just to raise the stakes; you're group picks out the song my group sings and vice versa. We only get one hour to practice. And the loser has to pay the winner fifty bucks!" Robbie told her.

Krystal smirked. "You're on!"

Robbie smirked back and leaned away. "Good." He turned around. "Let's go guys. This place has too many wimps." he said to his band.

"Oh, and Robbie? Y'all might wanna eat a whole pack of mints before the competition or the audience will be passing out. I can smell your skunk-breath from here!" she called to the guitar player as he walked out the door. She heard him mutter a string of curses as he exited the diner.

"Krissy, do you know what you just did?!" Mabel exclaimed, a hint of worry evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I stood up for ya! I ain't gonna let no one push me or my family around like that!" Krystal said, still fuming.

Lazy Susan came back with their food.

"Food!" she announced.

"Thank-you, ma'am." Krystal said to her.

"You're welcome," the woman replied before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Mabel continued to voice her worries to Krystal about what had just happened.

"You just accepted a challenge from _Robbie V. _who, if you don't happen to know, has been in that rock band for over five years! He's gonna crush you!" the brunette whisper-shouted.

Krystal smiled. "Mabel, for someone who's so optimistic, you're being such a pessimist. I have a chance. I won the talent show at my school a few months ago by singing. I'm pretty sure I can beat that guy. Especially if I play my cards right." the red-head replied in a slightly devious tone.

"What do you mean _play your cards right? _Are you going to cheat?!" Mabel asked.

"Heck, nah! I'm just gonna do a bit of mental manipulation, as grandpa calls it. He taught me some basic tricks to manipulation and the art of conning people last summer when I visited him." the southern girl explained.

"I don't think that was such a good idea."

"Ya think? His _lessons _earned me an overnight stay at the state prison!" Krystal muttered, remembering last summer. "I spent my 12th birthday in there."

"Say what now?" Mabel asked, interested in what had happened.

"Well, I'll tell ya what happened. It all started on a nice summer day, when I had to spend a week down here because my aunt Charlene had to take care of some important business here in Oregon, and needed someone to babysit me. Grandpa Stan found out about my amazing skills in painting and drawing. He asked me to help him with a little art project for the Mystery Shack. Before I knew it, the only thing I was painting was green rectangles."

"He made you paint dollars? Why?" inquired Mabel.

"You know him. counterfeiting purposes. I didn't know, though. And then, a couple days after the so-called _project_, he was taking me out to town so we could have some fun on the day of my birthday. Then the cops caught up to us and arrested him and I." Krystal explained.

"How'd you survive in there with all those prisoners? And why did you guys end up in the _state prison?_ Shouldn't they have taken you to the county jail?" Mabel asked.

"Well, we were sent to the state prison because the county jail had some sort of problem. Something about a prison break or something. It had damaged a lot of the jail. Anyways, as to how I survived; Grandpa and I were separated, and put into opposite ends of the prison. But no one seemed to bother me. I don't think they really cared." Krystal answered. But the last part had been a lie. She'd never tell anyone what really happened.

"Did you meet anyone?" Mabel asked.

"Just some southern boy with white hair and few of his friends. No one else really talked to me." Krystal half-lied.

But Mabel didn't seem to hear that last sentence as she stared out into space.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, so I lieD about you all finding out who it is that's targeting Mabel in this chApter. But you will find out in the nexT chapter. I promise! I know because I alrEady have the next chapter written. Anyways, how about and end-of-chapter cryptogram? **

**Mavovog whefw sekjhcm!**

**(Hint: This is a Vigeneré keyed cipher, like on the Gravity Falls Wiki. The key is hidden in the A/N. Good luck!)**


End file.
